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History of Toyama
The Country of Koshi Celebrated in the Manyoshu Site of the Battle of Kurihara
Kingdom of "Shinshu" Toyama Han and Etchu Medicine Vendors
Rise and Electric Power Generation
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Tateyama-mandara (owned by Daisenbo, an affiliate of Shoymyoji temple)People began settling in the area now known as Toyama Prefecture some 20,000 years ago. The region participated in all the major stages of Japanese prehistory, including the Stone Age, Jomon period, Yayoi Period, and the Period of Ancient Burial Mounds.
The Country of Koshi Celebrated in the Manyoshu
Around the time that Japan was unified under the Yamato Court, the Hokuriku region was known as the land of Etsu (or Koshi). It was an important base for military defense and expeditionary actions against Ezo people (ancestors of the modern Ainu) who then inhabited the northern part of Honshu.
In the year 746, when Otomo-no- Yakamochi (an aristocrat and poet) took up his post as governor of Etchu Province (modern-day Toyama), the province not only included the four counties of Tonami, Imizu, Nei, and Niikawa, but also the four counties of the Noto Peninsula (now part of Ishikawa Prefecture).
Otomo-no-Yakamochi was a young and energetic 29 years of age when he assumed office as the governor of Etchu. The zeal with which he approached his new role is captured in a long poem he wrote at the time, of which the following is an expert.
Here I am,Far removed from the court of His Majesty,In the distant and snowy land of Etsu.The poem is a testimony to the enthusiasm of a faithful servant of the emperor, who, though separated be great distance from the comforts of the capital, was determined to fulfill his deputy of bringing this remote area under the control of the new imperial administration.
Yakamochi was later to compile the Manyoshu, a massive anthology of poems by various authors, and Japan's first major collection of literature. Of the 472 poems in the Manyoshu that were contributed by Yakamochi himself, almost half deal with the five years that he spent as governor of Etchu.
In one of these poems, Yakamochi makes reference to Mt. Tateyama, which, by that time, was already a mecca for mountaineering ascetics. From the Heian Period (781-1192) through the Kamakura Period (1192-1333), there emerged the cult of Tateyama worship linked to the Amitabha Bodhisattva doctrine of the Pure Land sect of Buddhism.
Site of the Battle of Kurikara
During the height of their power, the Taira (Heike) clan became the virtual hereditary governors of Etchu. However, in 1181, when Yoshinaka of the rival Minamoto (Genji) clan entered the provincial capital of neighboring Echigo (modern-day Niigata Prefecture), the powerful warriors of Etchu joined forces with the warriors of Echizen (modern-day Fukui Prefecture) to support Yoshinaka against the Taira.
On May 11, 1183, the forces of the Taira and Yoshinaka's army were assembled on the mountains around Tonami for the decisive battle.
History states that the Taira had 100,000 soldiers while Yoshinaka's army comprised only 50,000 men. Yoshinaka mounted a night raid using cattle with burning torches attached to their horns. This frightened the Taira forces causing them to flee in all directions, and many fell to their death in the deep valleys below.
As a result, the Taira were forced to retreat to the capital (modern-day Kyoto). This was the Battle of Kurikara, as described in the epic known as the Rise and Fall of the Genji and Heike.
Etchu once again became the scene of war in 1221, when Shokyu Revolt occurred. The bakufu, or military government at Kamakura, took up arms against an army organized by the retired Emperor Gotoba.
Gotoba was intent on restoring imperial authority. Many leading Etchu warrior families sided with the Eastern Army (the army of the bakufu) in the ensuing battle.
As the warrior clans increased their hold on power during the Kamakura Period and the Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, they also strengthened their control over the feudal estates as local administrators and lords of the manor.
One result was a decline in the fortunes of Fushiki (modern-day Takaoka, the second largest city in Toyama Prefecture), which had been the seat of government in Etchu since the Nara Period (710-784), and the ascendancy of Hojozu (modern-day Shinminato, a coastal city north-east to Takaoka), where there was a warrior-administrator's post.
Kingdom of "Shinshu"
As in the territories of Echizen and Kaga, the Shinshu sect of Pure Land Buddhism flourished in Etchu, earning the province the title of "Kingdom of Shinshu."
The propagation of Shinshu (also known as Joudo-Shinshu) began with the establishment of the Mizuhashi fraternity by Zonkaku, great-grandson of the celebrated Buddhist priest Shinran, founder of the Shinshu sect. In 1390, the priest Shakunyo V of Honganji Temple in Kyoto , established the Zuisenji Temple in Inami, and the priest Rennyo VIII of Honganji Temple, who had earlier set up a seminary at Yoshizaki in Echizen (modern-day Fukui Prefecture), established Doyama Gobo, the forerunner of Shokoji Temple, in Fushiki.
As a result, Shinshu spread rapidly from Tonami County through the entire Etchu region. One after the other, Shinshu fraternities were formed among serfs who banded together in common cause. These bands frequently organized uprisings against the local barons and feudal lords.
Although Etchu was never so completely dominated by the Shinshu sect as neighboring Kaga Province, the Zuisenji Temple in Inami, the Monmyoji Temple in Yatsuo, and Zentokuji Temple in Jyohana all became centers of Shinshu-inspired uprisings in Sengoku Era, supported by prominent local families.
Eventually, the Shinshu uprisings were put down by Sassa Narimasa. However, the Shinshu religious faith remained firmly implanted in the hearts of the people. It remains a pervasive influence in Toyama today, to the extent that the prefecture is still known as the "Kingdom of Shinshu."
Toyama Han and Etchu Medicine Vendors
It was Sassa Narimasa who spearheaded Oda Nobunaga's entry into Etchu. He restored Toyama Castle and rebuilt the surrounding town. He devoted considerable efforts to controlling the water, building the first stone embankments in Etchu along the Jyoganji River, which frequently caused major flooding.
However, after the death of Nobunaga, Sassa Narimasa was to take sides against the new aspiring ruler of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He lost, and as a result, was removed by Hideyoshi to the province of Higo (modern-day Kumamoto). Etchu was given to the Maeda family of Kaga Province.
The heyday of Toyama as a castle town really began in 1639, when Maeda Toshitsugu was granted 100,000 koku of land to form Toyama Han (the Toyama feudal domain). The town attracted large numbers of traveling salesmen and traders, and flourished as an important post along the Hokuriku route, and also by virtue of its position as the starting point of the Hida Kaido route.
The most famous of the traveling salesmen were the Etchu medicine vendors, who traveled up and down the country selling their wares in a unique system that required the customer to pay for medicines only after they were used.
According to the official history of the well-known herbal medicine Hankontan, the Etchu medicine industry began when Bandai Jokan, a doctor from Okayama in Bizen Province, was invited to dispense medicines for the second-generation head of the Toyama Han, Maeda Masatoshi. As a way of promoting local industry, the han provided both incentives and protection for traveling Etchu medicine vendors.
Rise and Electric Power Generation, and Next
In 1871, the new Meiji Government abolished the han (feudal domains) and established an administrative system based on prefectures. Thus, Toyama Prefecture came into being, only to be amalgamated shortly thereafter with Ishikawa Prefecture. Present-day Toyama Prefecture was established on May 9, 1883, after a successful campaign by Yonezawa Monzaburo and Fujii Yoshizo to have Toyama split off from Ishikawa.
During the Meiji and Taisho Periods, Toyama had no significant industry other than agriculture, and the economic development of the prefecture hinged on improvements in the rice harvest. Large-scale redevelopment of farmland were carried out within the prefecture as part of the process of restoring flood-ravaged areas--particularly land flooded by the Joganji River--and improving the quality of rivers and irrigation water.
Around the same time, hydroelectric projects were launched to take advantage of the fast-flowing streams in the prefecture. As a result, Toyama became one of the top electricity-generating prefectures in the country.
In 1897, the Toyama Electric Light Company was established, and the Okubo Power House began operations with a 150-kW generator. On April 1, 1899, arc lamps illuminated Toyama streets for the first time.
This was followed by the building of power houses and dams on many of the prefecture's rivers, and initiatives to encourage industrialists to set up factories with the lure of a plentiful and cheap supply of electricity. There was considerable investment of capital from outside the prefecture, and Toyama became a supplier of electricity to the Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe areas.
The massive bombardments in the end of the World War II literally ruined, along with death of thousands of citizens, the industrial activities in Toyama. However, blessed with abundant electricity-generating resources--the prerequisite of a modern industrial base--and a diligent and enterprising population, Toyama stood up again and has became one of the most industrially developed area on Japan Sea coast.
The prefecture has promoted a number of major development projects since the end of World War II. These include the construction of the Arimine and Kuroyon Dams, the Toyama-Takaoka New Industrial City project, and the Toyama New Port project.
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